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The concept of shopping malls is fairly new in Sharjah,
although several malls have opened during 2001 and early
2002. Many large showrooms as well as small centers are
dotted around the city selling various products.
By
2005, Sharjah is expected to rank third after Dubai and
Doha in terms of shopping center space per capita at around
13 sq.ft., per person - overtaking even Abu Dhabi, according
to a study by a UK based organization.
The
survey said Sharjah shopping centers will be creating
a total of about 355,000 square meters of Gross Leaseable
Area within three years.
Sharjah's
new shopping malls include the 500,000 sq. ft. Dh 400
million Sahara Center, 400,000 sq. ft. Sharjah Mega Mall
and Majid Al Futtaim's City Center. The survey said however,
time will tell whether Sharjah can sustain occupancy of
these malls without having to attract shoppers from outside
the emirate. The test will be on whether Sharjah malls
can outperform well entrenched malls in Dubai,' the study
said.
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